At the bar where he saw his first punk show, northern Ontario MP Charlie Angus told Canadians he wants to be their next prime minister.

“It’s time we mixed things up in Ottawa. It’s time we brought a little bit of passion, a little bit of fire. That we made sure that words like reconciliation actually mean something,” said Angus, a one-time punk rocker himself, to cheers from the few hundred people packed into Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern.

He chose this day – Sunday, February 26 – to officially enter the NDP leadership race two months ago.